McLean Museum and Art Gallery


Case study: S


RED BANK (PART OF FORTERRA)


ituated in Greenock, Inverclyde, in Scotland, the purpose-built McLean Museum and Art Gallery


first opened its doors to the public in 1876.


Over 140 years later, the Category A listed building is undergoing a £2 million programme of emergency repairs to its parapets and towers, window replacement, roof repairs and treatment for wet rot, as well as work to improve disabled access with the addition of a lift and the opening up of an historic doorway. The work is being funded by owner Inverclyde Council – who wanted to ensure the protection of the museum’s artefacts and exhibits – and a grant from Historic Environment Scotland.


Included in the work is the replacement of 12 ornate chimney pots, which are an important feature of the building’s roof. Only three of the original pots had survived, one of which was damaged and held together with wire. The architect working on the project, Justin McNeil of Glasgow-based Collective Architecture, needed to find a supplier who could produce accurate replicas of the chimney pots. He contacted Red Bank (part of Forterra) – who celebrate 100 years of manufacturing next year – sending them a photograph of one


of the pots. Following discussions with both the architect and the contractor, Red Bank confirmed that they could assist.


Using traditional model and moulding methods that have been around for centuries, the Red Bank craftsmen set about the task of producing replica chimney pots using one of the intact pots as a guide.


A plaster mould that allows for the natural clay shrinkage that occurs at firing stage was made of the pot. Red Bank typically use a selection of three standard clays: red, buff and blue-black. In this instance, buff was selected to match the originals.


A Red Bank craftsman skillfully cuts out segments from the detailed top


part of one of the pots and fettles to a smooth finish before it is joined to the lower base part


Left: Shows the original pot sent to Forterra Red Bank to be replicated.


Right: The new replicated pots ready for delivery to site


The mould was carefully filled with clay and left to dry to a point where it was hard enough to allow for the mould to be removed. After removing the mould, the pot was then skilfully fettled to remove any sharp edges before being smoothed off to extract imperfections and seal the surface to keep out any moisture ingress.


After being left to slowly dry for between one and two weeks, the pots were kiln-fired to a temperature of approximately 1100 degrees centigrade.


Continued >> Listed Heritage Magazine September/October 2018 81


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